Joshua 23 (NET)

Joshua Challenges Israel to be Faithful

1 A long time1 passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies,2 and Joshua was very old.3 2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old. 3 You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you.4 4 See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations,5 from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea6 in the west, including all the nations I defeated.7 5 The Lord your God will drive them out from before you and remove them,8 so you can occupy9 their land as the Lord your God promised10 you. 6 Be very strong! Carefully obey11 all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left, 7 or associate with these nations that remain near12 you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods!13 You must not worship14 or bow down to them! 8 But you must be loyal to15 the Lord your God, as you have been16 to this very day.

9 “The Lord drove out from before you great and mighty nations; no one has been able to resist you17 to this very day. 10 One of you makes a thousand run away,18 for the Lord your God fights for you19 as he promised you he would.20 11 Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God!21 12 But if you ever turn away and make alliances with22 these nations that remain near you,23 and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them,24 13 know for certain that the Lord our God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you;25 they will be a whip that tears26 your sides and thorns that blind27 your eyes until you disappear28 from this good land the Lord your God gave you.

14 “Look, today I am about to die.29 You know with all your heart and being30 that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized – not one promise is unfulfilled!31 15 But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized,32 it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment33 until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you. 16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep,34 and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods,35 the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear36 quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”

123:1tn Heb “many days.” 223:1tn Heb “the Lord had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around.” 323:1tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse. 423:3tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.” 523:4tn Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.” 623:4tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea. 723:4tn Heb “from the Jordan and all the nations which I cut off and the Great Sea [at] the place where the sun sets.” The relationship of the second half of the verse, which mentions nations already conquered, to the first half, which speaks of “remaining nations,” is difficult to understand. 823:5tn The Hebrew text reads, “from before you.” This has not been included in the translation because it is redundant in English. 923:5tn Or “take possession of.” 1023:5tn Heb “said to.” 1123:6tn Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.” 1223:7tn Heb “with.” 1323:7tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26. 1423:7tn Or “serve.” 1523:8tn Heb “hug.” 1623:8tn Heb “done.” 1723:9tn Heb “not a man has stood before you.” 1823:10tn Or “chases a thousand.” 1923:10tn Heb “for the Lord your God, he [is] the one who fights for you.” 2023:10tn Heb “as he said to you.” 2123:11tn Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the Lord your God.” 2223:12tn Heb “and hug.” 2323:12tn Heb “the remnant of the these nations, these nations that are with you.” 2423:12tn Heb “and go into them, and they into you.” 2523:13tn Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.” 2623:13tn Heb “in.” 2723:13tn Heb “thorns in your eyes.” 2823:13tn Or “perish.” 2923:14tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.” 3023:14tn Or “soul.” 3123:14tn Heb “one word from all these words which the Lord your God spoke to you has not fallen, the whole has come to pass for you, one word from it has not fallen.” 3223:15tn Heb “and it will be as every good word which the Lord your God spoke to you has come to pass.” 3323:15tn Heb “so the Lord will bring every injurious [or “evil”] word [or “thing”] upon you.” 3423:16tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you.” 3523:16tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.” 3623:16tn Or “perish.”